We know that God is the initiator in all things.
“We love, because he first loved us.” -1 John 4:19
And yet in James it says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you”. He puts the relational responsibility on us!
Why is this?
Because from God’s side He is always willing. Relational failure is never coming from God’s side. For that reason, God takes care to teach us the importance of our intentionality when it comes to us having a relationship with Him.
In Psalm 27, David sings, “My heart says, “Seek His face”. But notice something. It goes on to say “Your face, LORD, I will seek”!
It’s not enough just to have the desire in our heart to seek His face, we must actually do it!
It is not enough just to think about it, or wistfully dream about it, we must actually be intentional, and act on the impulse!
Right here lies much of our problem.
We have high thoughts, but little action! We wonder why we feel far away from God, and the simple answer is, that we haven’t drawn near to Him, we’ve only thought about it!
Even in human relationships how far do we get if we only think about the object of our love but don’t actually act upon it?
Thinking about giving your wife a rose, and actually giving her one, are two different things. Your wife is not likely to respond to your thoughts! I hate to say this, but the problem that we have with God is the same problem that we have with each other- there’s too little intentionality!
Love is proven by its actions, not its desires.
Thus it was that the psalmist proved his love for God by acting on his intentionality.
O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You. In a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. -Psalms 63:1
If a person is thirsty enough they will try to find something to drink. The more thirsty we are, the more intentional we get!
David goes on to say in the verse that follows, “So I have looked for You in the sanctuary.”
Do you see the intentionality? “I was thirsty, so I have looked for you!”
I didn’t just lay there in bed, but I got up early in the morning and I went to the sanctuary. I searched for You. I looked for you until I found You. I was desperate for You.
We’re told that David was a man after God’s own heart, but you see, he didn’t just sit there thinking of God fondly, he sought Him out!
Intentionality that leads to ACTION is the key that unlocks intimacy. When it comes to love you will never get anywhere by being lazy!
Good intentions are not the same as being intentional! If you really love God get up and do something about it!!